1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus, such as a microwave oven, having a heating chamber that is closed with a door provided with an operation portion that permits setting of heating conditions such as heating time and heating mode, a display portion that permits display of the heating conditions set through operation of the operation portion, and a peep window that permits observation of the inside of the heating chamber.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As an example of a conventional cooking apparatus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S58-23 discloses a microwave oven. This microwave oven is provided with a door for opening and closing the opening at the front of a heating chamber. The door is fitted with various electronic components such as operation keys, a display panel, and printed circuit boards. The operation keys are provided in an operation portion that permits setting of heating conditions such as heating time and heating mode. The display panel displays the heating conditions set through operation of the operation portion.
However, this conventional microwave oven is so constructed that the operation keys of the operation portion, the display window of the display panel, the peep window through which to look into the heating chamber, and other components are prepared separately and are then assembled together. That is, the conventional microwave oven requires a large number of components, and thus requires unduly high cost.
On the other hand, as another example of a conventional cooking apparatus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H1-189422 discloses a microwave oven as shown in FIG. 15. At the front of a body 165 of the microwave oven, a door 163 is pivoted on hinges 168. The door 163 is provided with an operation portion 161 having operation keys and a display portion 162. The operation portion 161 and the display portion 162 are connected by way of leads 164 to a power supply portion 166 provided inside the body 165.
The hinges 168 are fitted with a lead cover 167 for covering the leads 164, and is fixed to the body 165. The leads 164 are so laid as to run first inside the door 163, then out of the door 163 through the bottom face thereof, and then into and through the lead cover 167 so as to be led into the body 165 through the front face thereof. In this way, the lead cover 167 covering the leads 164 helps prevent the leads 164 from being exposed and thereby protect them from damage when the door 163 is opened or closed.
As another example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-304161 discloses a microwave oven as shown in FIG. 16. In a body 171 of this microwave oven, above a door 172 is provided a vent that communicates with the inside of a heating chamber in which to put an article to be heated. Here, to keep up acceptable appearance of the front face of the body 171, a louver 173 is fitted so as to cover the vent.
However, the conventional microwave ovens described above require an extra component, such as the lead cover 167 (see FIG. 15) or the louver 173 (see FIG. 16), to protect leads or to keep up acceptable appearance. This, inconveniently, increases the total number of components required, and thus leads to accordingly lower productivity and higher cost.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cooking apparatus that permits operation keys, a display window, and a heating chamber peep window to be formed in a door easily and thus at lower cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking apparatus that permits protection of leads without an increase in the total number of components required.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking apparatus that offers acceptable appearance without an increase in the total number of components required.
To achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, a cooking apparatus is provided with: a body having a heating chamber in which to put an article to be heated; a door for opening and closing the opening of the heating chamber; an operation portion, provided on the door, that permits control of cooking operation; a display panel, provided on the door, for displaying information; a door screen fitted in the front face of the door and formed of a transparent member; and a door sheet laid over the door screen by being bonded thereto.
Here, in the door sheet are formed operation keys that permits entry of the heating conditions into the operation portion, a transparent portion that serves as a display window through which to view the display panel, and a transparent portion that serves as a peep window through which to look into the heating chamber.
In this construction, the operation keys, the display window, and the peep window can easily be formed in the door face simply by fitting the door screen in the outer frame of the door.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a cooking apparatus is provided with: a body having a heating chamber in which to put an article to be heated; a door for opening and closing the opening of the heating chamber; a support member shaped like a frame so as to cover a bottom portion of the front face of the body below the door and simultaneously support the body; electronic components fitted on the door; a power supply portion provided inside the body so as to supply electric power to the electronic components; and leads for connecting the electronic components to the power supply portion.
Here, the inside of the door communicates with the inside of the support member through a first opening formed in the top face of the support member facing the bottom face of the door and through a second opening formed in the bottom face of the door, and the inside of the support member communicates with the inside of the body through a third opening formed in the front face of the body below the door. Moreover, the leads are so laid as to run first inside the door then inside the support member and then reach into the body.
In this construction, the leads that have left the door then run inside the support member and then reach into the body. Thus, no part of the leads is exposed.
In this construction, by providing a vent in the front face of the body below the door, and forming an opening communicating with the vent in a portion of the support member covering the front face of the body, it is possible to permit the inside of the body to communicate with the outside through the vent provided in the front face of the body and through the communicating opening formed in the support member. This permits outside air to be introduced into the body through the communicating opening and the vent.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a cooking apparatus is provided with: a body having a heating chamber in which to put an article to be heated; a door for opening and closing the opening of the heating chamber; a heating element provided below the heating chamber; and a frame-shaped member provided below the door so as to cover the front side of the heating element and having a vent formed therein.
In this construction, outside air is introduced into the body through the vent formed in the frame-shaped member to cool the heating element provided below the heating chamber.